Rescue 1122 staff found ‘negligent’ in Jan 15 fire

Firefighters were slow in arriving at Satellite Town house where inferno killed bride-to-be, 3 women

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: An investigation into the death of a bride and three women during a fire at a house in Rawalpindi has held fire-fighters of the Punjab Rescue 1122 responsible.

The investigation, conducted under the supervision of Rawalpindi District Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa, found that Rescue 1122 officials were ‘negligent’ in their response to the incident.

Those held responsible for the negligence in responding to the emergency on January 15 include Staff Station Co-Ordinator Harris Farooq, Lead Fire Rescuer Aftab Rashid and two computer and telephone operators Alka Karamat and Kashif Zubair.

They have been ordered to report to Emergency Services Academy in Lahore.

On January 15, a fire had broken out in the house of Chaudhry Tariq, located in Block 15 of Satelite Town.

Preparations for a marriage ceremony were on-going at Tariq’s home at the time. Tariq’s daughter, the bride-to-be was getting ready while her friends and family were busy in giving final touches ahead of their departure for the wedding hall when suddenly, flames engulfed the house.

A distress call was sent to Rescue 1122, but the service failed to send fire-fighters in time to save the bride and three other women — all of whom died of smoke inhalation.

On the demand of the affected people, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had ordered an investigation so that action could be taken against the officers involved.

While DC Randhawa supervised the investigation, some field staffers were of the view that the probe has only held junior officials as responsible, who were simply following orders.

Social media activist stabbed to death

A popular social media activist and blogger Muhammad Bilal Khan was killed by unidentified assailants in Islamabad late Sunday night.

Known for writing on sensitive political issues, 18-year-old Bilal was stabbed with a sharp object in the capital’s Sector G-9/4 area. His cousin was also injured in the attack.

He was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

According to the Karachi Company police, the victim’s father Obaidullah said that he hails from Abbottabad.

He added that they had gone to visit their relatives in Kot Hatyal, within the remits of the Bhara Kahu police station.

“I received a call from Bilal’s cousin, Ehtishamul Haq, that they had been attacked and were in the Pims (Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences),” Obaidullah said, adding that on hearing this, they rushed to the hospital.

“I went to the emergency ward in Pims where my son was lying dead and his cousin was receiving treatment for injuries,” the devastated father was quoted as saying in the first information report (FIR) filed with the Karachi Company police station.

After completing a post-mortem, the police handed over Bilal’s body to his family for performing his last rites.

His funeral prayers were offered on Monday morning at the Rehmani Masjid in Aabpara Chowk.

The duty officer at the Karachi Company police station wrote in his report that they had found 17 stabbing marks, apparently caused by a sharp object on different parts of Bilal’s body.

The case has now been transferred to the Islamabad Police’s Homicide Unit who have launched an investigation into the murder.

According to police, the assailants had called Bilal to meet them. When Bilal, along with his cousin went to the spot, they were ambushed and attacked.

Bilal had more than 16,000 followers on Twitter and over 48,000 subscribers on YouTube. He was quite active on social media where he talked about prevailing issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2019.